Entrepreneur of 2014 Winner on How He Caught the Entrepreneurial Bug

That’s where Dan Price got started. Price, who earned the distinction of our Entrepreneur of 2014, founded Gravity Payments, a credit-card processing company that brings in about $150 million in revenue a year.

In a speech at Entrepreneur’s Growth Conference in February, he explained how he first got into business while playing in a band at a local coffee shop. While the shop owner had certain essentials for business success -- passion for her product and her community, for example -- she didn’t have the financial know-how that she needed. Price helped her manage her credit card fees and implement a customer loyalty program.

From there, he began a small service-based business that was profitable while he was in high school. He recommends that aspiring entrepreneurs consider that strategy -- starting a service-based business before going on to launch a product of your own. “This is a way that you can bootstrap and raise money for yourself, even if you’re in a place like Idaho, where there isn’t a lot of venture capital. Or maybe you have an idea that’s unique or doesn’t appeal to people who invest,” he said.

In transitioning his business, he ran into serious debt. Two or three years later, he found himself making $30,000 a year -- and he knew the risk had paid off. “I was like ‘Wow, this is like paradise.’ I can actually wake up everyday, do what I’m passionate about, help my clients and make enough money to support myself.”

Watch this short video and learn more tidbits from someone who’s been there and done that -- but done it well.